Vanguard
History During the Rikti War, shortly after the initial Rikti attack, The United Nations Security Council, led by Great Britain and France, formed an emergency umbrella organization to help coordinate hero resources in the worldwide war against the invaders. Called the Vanguard, this group was comprised of some of the world's best and brightest heroes. The Rikti had taken their toll and famous super groups like the Freedom Phalanx, the Dawn Patrol, Midnight Squad, Regulators, and Hero Corps were down to only the toughest and most powerful heroes. With its decentralized command structure and international recruiting base, only the Vanguard remained a viable, organized fighting force. It sprang into action immediately, and began to effect stalemates similar to the one that had been reached in Paragon City. The aliens' advances were halted, but it seemed impossible to take back the territory they had already seized. The Vanguard initiated a plan to strike back at the Rikti using a plan by Dr. Science. Leaving only skeleton crews to man defenses, the Vanguard was split into two teams. Alpha Team was led by Statesman and Omega Team was led by Hero 1. Alpha Team was much larger and consisted of over 1,000 heroes which launched a frontal assault on the Rikti. It was a costly attack and 800 of the heroes lost their lives. While the Alpha Team attacked the main body of Rikti troops, Omega Team slipped into the main Rikti portal base, through one of the portals and after a huge explosion from the other side, the portal was shut down. Only one hero, the utterly invulnerable Ajax, managed to survive the blast on this side of the portal. It is presumed that the heroes that went through the portal have perished. Thanks to the heroics of the Vanguard, the Rikti War was over, or at least the first phase of it was. Both sides were nearly shattered in the process. The Vanguard and the other great hero organizations of the world scarcely existed anymore. With the exception of Statesman and a few others, all the world's greatest heroes had died in the war. Trillions upon trillions of dollars of damage had been done to the majority of the world's most populated cities. Paragon City was the worst hit of all. Once a shining beacon of light and prosperity, now much of it lay in ruins. It didn't take long for criminals to start reasserting themselves, and new heroes were needed. It was the beginning of a desperate time that would last for decades. Today, the Vanguard objectives are the same that they were years ago during the Rikti War. The organization opposes the Rikti wherever they show up, and so, the Rikti War Zone is a primary concern for the group, where they keep a strong presence encircling the downed Rikti starship. But the Vanguard has a dark side too: Dedicated to stop the Rikti by whatever means necessary, they gladly recruit metahumans without any kind of distinction, not caring about the past of any new recruits. In practice this means that the Vanguard accepts into its ranks heroes as well as villains. This open door policy is causing a lot of tension between the organization and Longbow, whose point of view about the matter is completely different. Despite the fact that both groups fight for the same side and want to see the Rikti defeated, some of the Longbow leaders, such as W. M. Dietrich are especially critical of Vanguard. And while the Vanguard fights for the planet as a whole and even has known villains in its ranks, villain groups such as the Malta Group or Arachnos are openly hostile to them, making its ally list even thinner. Fighting an alien race in an open war, distrusted by hero organizations and attacked by villain groups, the Vanguard faces an uncertain future ahead. Only time will tell if the Vanguard and its allies succeed in their goals. Structural Hierarchy The Vanguard is split into 5 main divisions: The Helm, The Gauntlet, The Shield, The Herald, and The Sword. The Herald - The public relations division is ran by a heroine named Incandescent. She's not normally on-site as she's usually too busy abroad working with the UN. The Shield - The security division headed up by the sisters Levantera and Borea. Sharing the leadership between the two of them, together they handle security and most defensive roles. The Gauntlet - The main offensive branch is headed up by the hero known as Serpent Drummer. Most troops that are visibly seen taking physical action against the Rikti belong to this branch. The Helm - The intelligence division, headed up by the mysterious Dark Watcher. This division is dedicated in gathering information to help keep the Rikti contained. The Sword - The counter-intelligence and special ops division is a secret branch headed up by Gaussian, and handles all kinds of cloak-and-dagger works. The Lady Grey is the overall commander of the Vanguard and is both powerful and well connected. It's believed that she has been around as long as Statesman and Recluse. She sets the overall strategy of the organization and has Dark Watcher as her second in command. Benefits Despite the overall situation of the group and its relations with the rest of the world, metahumans who join the Vanguard may reap the benefits of their service: * Vanguard Medals Just joining the Vanguard will net your char one medal. Continued action against the Rikti Ship can earn you another two. (Note that it is imperative that your char has the "Member of the Vanguard" medal if you want to earn Merits! I'm not sure you need to be a member of the Vanguard to earn the other two, but are completely related to the Vanguard.) * Vanguard Merits The first thing a metahuman must do after joining is earning the Vanguard's favor. This can be done by earning Merits in battle. There are some way to do it: doing missions in the War Zone, defeating Rikti troops there or even attacking the Rikti Ship. Once enough Merits have been earned, they can be spent in different improvements. * Vanguard Costume Pieces The Vanguard can outfit recruits with the same Impervium Armor their troops use in battle. Each piece must be earned separatedly. (Please note that the Vanguard Armor is just one more option at the tailor and won't grant you char any special resistancer nor other benefits) * Vanguard Temporary Powers After fighting a technologically advanced alien race for years, the Vanguard has some high technology to offer to its allies: Mechs, Psi-weapons and even spells are all available to metahumans The Vanguard is an NPC group that was implemented in Issue 10. The first contact with players happened during the closed Issue 9 beta, where a bug caused Police Radio missions to spawn this enemy group. When asked about it, Positron stated they weren't supposed to be seen yet. Contacts Serpent Drummer, Borea, Dark Watcher. Gaussian, The Lady Grey, Levantera. Models Male NPC models Female NPC models Heavy Assault model. Not to scale; this model is over 20 feet tall. Roster Currently, not every branch of the Vanguard may be found in game. The following Vanguard soldiers can be found, mostly as neutral or ally to heroes and villains. Minions Vanguard Shield Vanguard Soldier Vanguard is a group backed by the United Nations, and headed up by Lady Grey. Their soldiers are specifically outfitted in Impervium armor and with high tech as well as magical weaponry to fight the Rikti. Everything they do is centered around containing the Rikti menace on our world. Powers Conference Security Vanguard is a group backed by the United Nations, and headed up by Lady Grey. Their soldiers are specifically outfitted in Impervium armor and with high tech as well as magical weaponry to fight the Rikti. Everything they do is centered around containing the Rikti menace on our world. Note: Conference Security is a group of NPCs found in the mission Defend Vanguard Base from Levantera (Verify: May be Dark Watcher?). They actively fight the Rikti; however, if you defeat their enemies around them, they will remain in place and not attack further unless provoked. Vanguard Sword Vanguard Ranger Vanguard is a group backed by the United Nations, and headed up by Lady Grey. Their soldiers are specifically outfitted in Impervium armor and with high tech as well as magical weaponry to fight the Rikti. Everything they do is centered around containing the Rikti menace in our world. Powers Vanguard Ranger Vanguard is a group backed by the United Nations, and headed up by Lady Grey. Their soldiers are specifically outfitted in Impervium armor and with high tech as well as magical weaponry to fight the Rikti. Everything they do is centered around containing the Rikti menace on our world. Powers Lieutenants Vanguard Shield Vanguard Adept Vanguard is a group backed by the United Nations, and headed up by Lady Grey. Their soldiers are specifically outfitted in Impervium armor and with high tech as well as magical weaponry to fight the Rikti. Everything they do is centered around containing the Rikti menace on our world. Powers Vanguard Sergeant Vanguard is a group backed by the United Nations, and headed up by Lady Grey. Their soldiers are specifically outfitted in Impervium armor and with high tech as well as magical weaponry to fight the Rikti. Everything they do is centered around containing the Rikti menace on our world. Powers Vanguard Sword Vanguard Eliminator Vanguard is a group backed by the United Nations, and headed up by Lady Grey. Their soldiers are specifically outfitted in Impervium armor and with high tech as well as magical weaponry to fight the Rikti. Everything they do is centered around containing the Rikti menace on our world. Powers Vanguard Sergeant Vanguard is a group backed by the United Nations, and headed up by Lady Grey. Their soldiers are specifically outfitted in Impervium armor and with high tech as well as magical weaponry to fight the Rikti. Everything they do is centered around containing the Rikti menace on our world. Powers Vanguard Magician Vanguard is a group backed by the United Nations, and headed up by Lady Grey. Their soldiers are specifically outfitted in Impervium armor and with high tech as well as magical weaponry to fight the Rikti. Everything they do is centered around containing the Rikti menace on our world. Powers Bosses Vanguard Shield Vanguard Colonel Vanguard is a group backed by the United Nations, and headed up by Lady Grey. Their soldiers are specifically outfitted in Impervium armor and with high tech as well as magical weaponry to fight the Rikti. Everything they do is centered around containing the Rikti menace on our world. Powers Vanguard Wizard Vanguard is a group backed by the United Nations, and headed up by Lady Grey. Their soldiers are specifically outfitted in Impervium armor and with high tech as well as magical weaponry to fight the Rikti. Everything they do is centered around containing the Rikti menace on our world. Powers Vanguard Sword (Vanguard Sword Colonel?) Vanguard is a group backed by the United Nations, and headed up by Lady Grey. Their soldiers are specifically outfitted in Impervium armor and with high tech as well as magical weaponry to fight the Rikti. Everything they do is centered around containing the Rikti menace in our world. Powers Sword Sorcerer Vanguard is a group backed by the United Nations, and headed up by Lady Grey. Their soldiers are specifically outfitted in Impervium armor and with high tech as well as magical weaponry to fight the Rikti. Everything they do is centered around containing the Rikti menace on our world. Powers Vanguard Sorcerer Vanguard is a group backed by the United Nations, and headed up by Lady Grey. Their soldiers are specifically outfitted in Impervium armor and with high tech as well as magical weaponry to fight the Rikti. Everything they do is centered around containing the Rikti menace on our world. Powers Elite Bosses Vanguard Shield Vanguard HVAS Main Article: Vanguard HVAS Vanguard is a group backed by the United Nations, and headed up by Lady Grey. Their soldiers are specifically outfitted in Impervium armor and with high tech as well as magical weaponry to fight the Rikti. Everything they do is centered around containing the Rikti menace on our world. Vanguard Sword Vanguard HVAS Main Article: Vanguard HVAS Vanguard is a group backed by the United Nations, and headed up by Lady Grey. Their soldiers are specifically outfitted in Impervium armor and with high tech as well as magical weaponry to fight the Rikti. Everything they do is centered around containing the Rikti menace on our world. Others Vanguard Shield Faultline (Pet) Main Article: Faultline (As Ally) See also: Jim Temblor (As Contact) After he rediscovered his heroic roots, young Jim Temblor has been doing all he can to redeem the name of his father: Faultline. Following several intense battles with the Rikti, Faultline and his girlfriend Fusionette have joined the Vanguard to help fight the alien invaders. Powers: Fusionette (Pet) Main Article: Fusionette Fusionette is one of the Nuclear 90; 90 children from around the world all born in one year with an unusual mutation that gives them natural magnetic nuclear fusion reactors for hearts, and the ability to channel energy from their internal reactor for a variety of super powers. Like many of the Nuclear 90, Fusionette has decided to use her powers for the betterment of mankind as a hero. She has recently joined the Vanguard along with her boyfriend Faultline in order to help fight the Rikti. Powers: Lady Grey (Henchman) Main Article: Lady Grey (As Ally) See also: The Lady Grey (As Task Force Contact) Ever composed, ever mysterious, the powerful and otherworldly Lady Grey is rumored to be older than Statesman, and one of the most powerful meta-humans on the planet. She was instrumental in the founding of Vanguard, and runs the organization expertly. She takes a great interest in Vanguard's day-to-day operations, and knows all of her troops by name. Powers: External Links Official History of the Rikti Invasion Category:Game Background